El Cortez Hotel & Casino

El Cortez Hotel & Casino stands at 600 E Fremont Street in the Fremont East district of downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, and is the longest continuously operating casino in the city. It opened in November 1941, weeks before the United States entered World War II, and was built in Spanish Colonial Revival style with a stucco facade, red tile accents and a prominent sign that remains a downtown landmark. The property was developed by local businessmen and, in 1945, was bought by a group that included the gangster Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky's associate Moe Sedway and Gus Greenbaum, who reportedly used the profits to help fund the Flamingo on the Strip a year later. Its ownership history over the following decades included Jackie Gaughan, a longtime downtown operator who bought it in the 1960s and kept it as a casino hotel into the 2000s, before a new ownership group invested in a restoration. Today the casino retains much of its original exterior character, and renovations have refreshed the rooms and gaming floor while preserving elements of the 1940s design. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors can walk the casino floor, see the vintage signage on the exterior, and view photographs and memorabilia that describe the property's history. Unlike a museum there is no fixed curatorial route, and interpretation is informal, but El Cortez provides a direct, working link to the early downtown gaming scene that predates the Strip's resorts. Because it sits on Fremont East, a few blocks beyond the Fremont Street Experience canopy, it is a good stop on a walking route through the downtown revival district, with bars and restaurants nearby. Entry is free, and gambling is limited to guests aged 21 and over.